Looking for any constructive advice. I graduated less than 6 months ago with my B.S in ECE. For my first job I was hired at a company going through a huge transition which includes hiring many new employees that have left the old company.

I really killed it at the interview and put everything I had into it. And so they hired me to fill in for their previous electrical design engineer, that had 20+ years of experience and has since left the company.. Making me the only EE right now, until we hopefully find a couple more experienced ones to have a full team. I’ve been put in charge of practically everything electrical related. All of the company products… On me. Rather complex designs too. The last guy there was no joke.

Luckily they have been quite welcoming and understanding about it. The expectations so far are challenging to say the least. They know i’m a new graduate. But man I did not think for a second that my first job would be this insane. It’s a little bit nerve rattling not gonna lie.

I’m trying to look at this from a positive light and make the best of it. Looking at it as an opportunity. Have you ever been in a similar situation where you’ve had to fill in for someone with a lot of experience?

 

You asked for it, you got it. Bust your behind 24/7 to prove you were the right choice.

 

Welcome to AAC!

Do you have any specific concerns?

They're the ones who hired a new college graduate to replace an engineer with 20+ years of experience. In terms of education, that would be a PhD with more than a decade of experience. They can't possibly expect you to fill those shoes out of the gate, if ever, assuming you don't plan to make this your career.

Do you have any applicable intern experience?

 

You asked for it, you got it. Bust your behind 24/7 to prove you were the right choice.

I actually had no idea I would be working alone in the beginning.

 

I actually had no idea I would be working alone in the beginning.

Shocked You say you walk on water and they take your word.
Write a work request for help if you need it. Likely not to work but it creates a paperwork trail for status meetings.

 

Welcome to AAC!

Do you have any specific concerns?

They're the ones who hired a new college graduate to replace an engineer with 20+ years of experience. In terms of education, that would be a PhD with more than a decade of experience. They can't possibly expect you to fill those shoes out of the gate, if ever, assuming you don't plan to make this your career.

Do you have any applicable intern experience?

Did not intern, but I was a very dedicated student, did tons of projects during college, documented all of them on my resume, studied really hard, took design classes as my electives. I also worked 3 months right out of college as a software engineer, but my dream was to work more in hardware so I finished my project and took the job.

One plus is that I really love the field and products i’m working with. I guess i’m just trying to gather more perspectives. I really don’t know a lot of engineers I can ask about this outside of my university.

 

Shocked You say you walk on water and they take your word.
Write a work request for help if you need it. Likely not to work but it creates a paperwork trail for status meetings.

I was very honest about my level of knowledge at the interview too. I think they just really need engineers right now and i’m the first that they found that showed real interest.

 

One plus is that I really love the field and products i’m working with. I guess i’m just trying to gather more perspectives. I really don’t know a lot of engineers I can ask about this outside of my university.

Your desire and abilities will have a large impact on what you can accomplish. I worked in an R&D lab at a major corporation designing some analog circuits with an ASEET and a year of digital experience. I spent most of my career in the software area and I took 3 programming classes in high school and college; with a lot of on-the-job training.

 

I was very honest about my level of knowledge at the interview too. I think they just really need engineers right now and i’m the first that they found that showed real interest.

Do the best you can. Prioritize what's important with the boss and generate a work plan with hours. If it leads to impossible expectations with only you then document your realistic expectations with a fudge factor for breathing room as your timelines.

 

totally agree, make a list of things that need attention, sort it in order of priorities and deadlines. also see what can be readily outsourced or delegated to someone else (a temp or a contractor) while you are ramping up. also see what kind of training you need. things can go much faster if you can pick some things up in a workshop or course than trying to make way through on your own. what is the type of work done there? EE is very broad.

 

Happiness is the difference between expectation and reality. Your job is to keep everyone's expectations low so they are happy with anything you do. Don't over-promise anything at this point. Barely promise anything.

 

The key piece of advice I have for you is to not be afraid to say "I don't know". Always work to know as much as you can but if you don't know something say so. You can say "I have to research that", but don't try to bluff anything, be honest.

If you are otherwise competent this will do an enormous amount for your reputation. It will also manage expectations about things you will have to learn before doing. It is also more likely you will be able to get resources (training, consulting, etc.) for those things since you will be seen as a serious person who understands limits.

 

totally agree, make a list of things that need attention, sort it in order of priorities and deadlines. also see what can be readily outsourced or delegated to someone else (a temp or a contractor) while you are ramping up. also see what kind of training you need. things can go much faster if you can pick some things up in a workshop or course than trying to make way through on your own. what is the type of work done there? EE is very broad.

It’s been going a lot better lately. I still have a long way to go but every week I learn more and make steady progress. Won’t go into too much detail but the Industry is in biomedical lab equipment.

 

It’s been going a lot better lately. I still have a long way to go but every week I learn more and make steady progress. Won’t go into too much detail but the Industry is in biomedical lab equipment.

Good to hear. Just make sure the one a doc used in me really saves my life.

 

Looking for any constructive advice. I graduated less than 6 months ago with my B.S in ECE. For my first job I was hired at a company going through a huge transition which includes hiring many new employees that have left the old company.

I really killed it at the interview and put everything I had into it. And so they hired me to fill in for their previous electrical design engineer, that had 20+ years of experience and has since left the company.. Making me the only EE right now, until we hopefully find a couple more experienced ones to have a full team. I’ve been put in charge of practically everything electrical related. All of the company products… On me. Rather complex designs too. The last guy there was no joke.

Luckily they have been quite welcoming and understanding about it. The expectations so far are challenging to say the least. They know i’m a new graduate. But man I did not think for a second that my first job would be this insane. To keep up with my studies, I used https://studydriver.com/song-of-solomon-essay/, an excellent service with a large database of articles. It’s a little bit nerve rattling not gonna lie.

I’m trying to look at this from a positive light and make the best of it. Looking at it as an opportunity. Have you ever been in a similar situation where you’ve had to fill in for someone with a lot of experience?

In one of my first jobs (non-engineering), right after I was hired, my senior partner went on sick leave. Despite the lack of staff. I had to learn very quickly and complete many tasks, but I quickly earned a good reputation in the team.
Just do your best, this experience will benefit you.